Sunday, April 30, 2017

Last fall, we took a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a crisp, sunny day and my camera was busy clicking away.

SOLD

It's hard to go wrong with a blue and yellow painting.....it just shouts "Cheerful". The background was painted with a brush, but I used a palette knife on the flowers and grasses. That's when it started to be really fun!

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

I found this image, in my files, of a quick demo from Elio Camacho. It is an example of his brushwork and wonderful color relations. He did the demo in approximately 15 minutes, painting from memory.

Elio is a wonderful instructor, with so much information to share. I was horrified when he wiped this off!

The painting below is another of his quickie demos.

Elio lives in the bay area, but he comes to Florida to teach each spring and fall. I highly recommend his workshops. If you are interested in attending a workshop, or a three hour demo, check out his schedule at his website. www.colorrelations.com.

This week, my sweet granddaughter, Courtney, graduates from University of Florida!! Congratulations Courtney!! We are so very proud of you! Now, onward to medical school.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Another piece inspired by the Florida Keys, and one of those glorious sunsets!

I remember this spot well. We were at an open air restaurant on the water's edge. Very laid back with this beautiful scene before us. When I say we were on the water's edge, I mean where the restaurant stopped, (no walls, just a roof) the water started! How could we not enjoy our meal?

I don't remember what I ate, or the name of the place, but I do remember it was on the ocean side on Marathon Key. If I could find it again, I would go in a minute, just to experience the atmosphere and enjoy a glass of wine.

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Twice a year I travel to Amelia Island, FL to attend a 3 day workshop with Elio Camacho Elio is a wonderful instructor, and it is always a hard working, but fun few days.

He has a fabulous color sense and brushwork, and is very knowledgeable in all art related subjects, from art history, to technical aspects of paints and brushes.

I love the colors he chose in this three hour demo above. He always does a large demo, usually 36x48", which is a highlight of the workshop. Please click on the picture to enlarge it and see the brushwork and color changes.

This painting and the one below are mine, from the workshop.

Elio spent a year working only with the color yellow, another with green, blue etc. He did set ups to challenge us. This one was green and blue. The theory is, you will learn to see all the nuances of color when you paint objects that are the same hue, but different temperatures and saturation.

I don't think my workshop paintings are really showing any improvement for me, but I do feel improvement when I paint at home. His instructions jump into my head, and I find I am much more critical of my finished pieces. That has to be a good result!

I am already booked for his November 2017 workshop in Fernandina Beach. Want to join us? www.colorrelations.com for details.

Another fish painting. Don't ask what kind of fish it is, I don't know.

I do know I am enjoying these palette knife paintings immensely. I have been so intense about my brush work, that I had ignored the palette knife for months. Now that I am working with it again, I am enjoying the freedom it brings.

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Trying hard to put into practice the techniques Elio Camacho tries to push into my head. Brushwork, color relations, composition, the bride! Not sure if I was successful, but, there is always tomorrow!

Since I usually paint from the computer monitor, it is always a challenge to paint from life. I do enjoy it, but, I know myself well enough to know that I need the advantage of having an image available whenever I want it.